Oct 2007

The taxi was of course not there in time at the hotel and we started getting a bit nervous. The reception ordered another one and finally it arrived. The driver looked exactly like the typical russian goone from a Hollywood movie. He didn't understand "train station" but when I imitated a train saying - "Chooo chooo" he smiled and off we went. 5 or 10 minutes later we arrived at the train station and the russian gorilla said with a smile - "Chooo chooo".

The train was full of tourists again but not as many as the first train and we didn't see as many Swedes this time. We got to share our compartment with a really nice couple from Germany, Teresa and Stefan. Teresa is 7 months pregnant and both have travelled all over and lived in different countries working with "Doctors without borders". I guess you can imagine how incredibly interesting it was talking to the two of them the whole way to Mongolia.

The train left at 5.43 in the morning and was scheduled to arrive in Ulan Bataar at 7.30 in the morning the day after. The funny thing is that there was another train that left Irkutsk (also headed for Ulan Bataar) about 8 hours before our train but scheduled to arrive just 25 minutes before us! I think its a cheaper one and more locals take it so the Russian customs want more time looking through that one. Anyway, the trip was beautiful.

It was great to see the Lake Baikal and then to see the scenery change as we came closer to Mongolia. The sunrise was beautiful and it was great to see the first "gers", the traditional Mongolian nomad tents and the animals in the countryside. It all went superb and we enjoyed the ride.

We arrived in Ulan Bataar on schedule and were picked up by somebody from the hostal. All of a sudden Emma was there! You remember, Emma? We shared compartment with her and her boyfriend Robert from Moscow to Irkutsk. Now they were planning to go for a 9 or 7 day tour of the Gobi desert and needed more people. We decided to think about it for a little while and to meet up again as soon as we had installed ourselves at the hostal and taken a shower.

Take care for now,

Fredrik and Sabrina

PS We will upload some photos shortly!

Irkutsk is situated 5,185 kilometers by rail from Moscow. It's situated in Siberia and has a subarctic climate, characterized by extreme variations of temperatures between seasons. Temperatures can be very warm in the summer, and brutally cold in the winter. The warmest month of the year in Irkutsk is July, when the average (between day and night) temperature is +18, and the coldest month of the year is January, when the average temperature is only −19 "C . Irkutsk is situated in a landscape of rolling hills within the thick taiga, typical of eastern Siberia, and in contrast to the flat, open steppe of western Siberia.

We arrived early in the morning and walked for 20 minutes from the Train Station through the rain and dark to our hotel.

Luckily we could access our room already and we had a nice breakfast (buffet). We took a long shower and had a nice rest after which we went out to try and find an internet cafe. It was still raining and cold and we were quickly quite wet. After a few hours of walking around without finding an open internet cafe we went into a nice restaurant. We managed to get something to eat and dried up. We then finally found our internet cafe (with the help of a very friendly local language student), called home and sent some e-mails.

In the evening we met two Austrians, father and son, Walter and Walter, who we had met already on the train from Moscow. They had booked a tour with a german speaking guide the following day and we decided to go with them. They were coming from "The Russian Tea House" which they could recommend and we went there for some tea and traditional "Blinis", russian pancakes. Yummy.

The day after we packed ourselves in a van to do the tour. It consited of a drive with the four of us, our guide Olga and the driver (who's name most probably could have been Ivan).

The first stop was at an outdoor museum ("Taltsy Museum of Wooden Architecture") showing different traditional houses and the way of life in Siberia during the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Buildings include farm houses, a Church, a Chapel a School and an eye-catching watchtower.

The second stop was the natural museum (Limnological Institute) where we could learn a bit more about the local geography, flora and fauna. They kept local fish as well as a couple of the endemic "Nerpa seals" in tanks.

After the museum we arrived at Lake Baikal. We were hungry and luckily our guide had booked a local restaurant there. We had "Omul" (a cousin of salmon and trout) endemic to the lake, wrapped in hash browns and filled with sourcream. We drank "Mors", cranberry juice, which normally is accompanied by vodka (but not this time). The meal was a true delicacy.

The third stop was the village of Listvyanka right at the lake, which by the way, is the deepest lake in the world with its 1,637 meters. That means its the largest freshwater lake by volume (23,000 km³), containing approximately twenty percent of the world's total surface fresh water. People didn't really know that much about Lake Baikal until the Trans-Siberian railway was built between 1896 and 1902. It was however quite impressive and a beautiful sight.

The fourth stop was at the local skiing slope from where we had some beautiful views.

The fifth and last stop was at a supermarket. We bought some food for the train ride to Mongolia and were amazed by the range of stuff they had.

We had a great time in Irkutsk and lake Baikal and would love to be able to come back one day. Maybe in March to experience the Siberian wintertime (when it's not too harsh). For those who like running (Nick and Kirsti?) we also heard that in March they have a Marathon on the lake. That would be a challenge!!

Lots of Love,

Fredrik and Sabrina